Oh, I will take the high road that runs across the plain,
To meet the kiss of sunshine, the sting of wind and rain,
By farm and field and homestead with gardens all in flower,
Where I perchance may linger and rest me for an hour.

Oh, I will take the by-road that dips down to the sea,
Where many ships go riding so gallant and so free,
And I shall find a tavern with windows all alight,
To give me kindly welcome and shelter for a night.

Oh, friendly hearth and homestead, with you I cannot stay,
The long roads lie before me, they beckon night and day,
The strange roads yet untrodden, they call to man and boy
To follow, follow ever on, for this is the traveller's joy!